Feeling anxious about booking and driving in Japan? I totally was too, but it turned out to be the best decision I made for my Hokkaido trip!
Before flying to Hokkaido, I’ve booked mine thru Rakuten Travel and choosing from Orix rental made it such an easy chore. Instructions to the collection was easy at New Chitose Airport.
Head to the Rental Car Counter and the reception brought us to the bus stop when the bus arrives. The shuttle bus took us to the rental car office and after collecting and checking the car. It’s time to start the ROAD TRIP!
Oh wait, before that, time to input the location into the GPS navigation system in the car. Tried Phone number, address and there’s not much use. The trick was that in Japan, they used a thing their own map code. Therefore what I did was to copy the address from Google’s map and paste it into the Japan Map Code or www.mapion.co.jp . Enter this Japan Map Code into the GPS system and verify with what was on our google map. And viola, magic!
The drive
Ahah, it’s a right-hand drive, same like Singapore. So it’s relatively easy and same-ish. Just follow the traffic light rules, be careful when going up, down bendy / slope-y roads.
There are some that is in red light, but there’s green arrow for growing straight, turning left, turning right. Also, just a note that there’s no Yellow box, so STOP before the “Stop” light, watch out for traffic and go. Always give way to the pedestrian(s)!
Enjoy the scenic view, and up down the mountainy road. Those are the best!
Oh yes, there might be a possibility of road which upon driving on it makes the car sound like a roaring truck engine sound. THATS the road! Definitely worth it to get the ETC pass if you are gonna drive a lot. It’s so much easy to go through the tollgates.
For parkings, they are usually free in the suburb, outskirt and to convenience stall. While in the city, it is a little more tricky, gotta squish into the tight spaces.
Depends on the car you rent, the one i rented is on regular petrol. This is the one in red color label in my picture below.
There are rest stops that are along the toll roads, and some of these are very well equipped with clean rest rooms, garden, convenience stall, dog run, etc..
Love this restroom design. It’s thoughtfully planned. The lock is designed to place a phone, and an umbrella holder next to it.
Relax and enjoy the drive. If you are in luck, you might have a chance to see a bear crossing, a fox running thru or deers along the sides.
Have fun, and cheers~
